Planning for the Future

All it takes is one moment to change a person's life for good and Saryn has had two such moments on the same day.

The first was waking up in an unfamiliar body. She had no idea where she was or who she had become.

The second occurred when she talked to Leum. Saryn did not even have the chance to bring up staying in touch because it was clear that this person wanted nothing to do with her or the people who raised them. Saryn felt abandoned and more lonely than she ever thought possible.

Left with little choice, Saryn made her way back to The Styx apartments. The passerby college students and incoming freshmen were out in full force now that the sun was starting to set. The popular places are restaurants. Places like The Hangout, Latte and Cheese, and Plum's Diner were the most popular on campus

'It is later than I thought. Must have spent more time awakening and crying than I realized. Heck, I did not even think to check the time at all today.'

'Maybe it is not all bad. At least my apartment is on the ground level.'

Trudging through the door and throwing herself on the bed, Saryn buried her head into the numerous pillows scattered at the head of the bed.

'Ugh, I'm so emotionally drained and have no direction to follow. I could survive off of what is in the bank for several years if I budget right. But I will go crazy if I do not have anything to do!'

She flipped over onto her back.

'Wait a second! I have aura now!'

Saryn excitedly sat up and began to play around with how the ice aura moved about her body.

She made ice daggers, bad chair designs, animals, and started recreating the furniture in the room. After making the bed with all the pillows on it, Saryn worked on the less complicated nightstand and wardrobe, finishing it off with the mirror.

"Darn, this takes a lot of concentration. I do not know if I have ever had to concentrate so hard to-" This was all Saryn got to say before the ice became water and splashed to the floor.

Using her aura to focus on the water in the carpet, Saryn slowly collected all the water droplets and dropped the ball of water into the bathroom sink.

A smile graced Saryn's face the whole time she used magic.

'From what I can feel, my aura is a bit sluggish, but it has been getting a teensy bit better, and is definitely abundant. I feel like I could go for a week straight before it ran out. Come to think of it, why do I have so much aura? And doesn't it usually only take a few minutes for people to awaken? I had to go through that terrible pain.'

Shuddering at the memory of being curled up on the floor, Saryn started to think about the new options because of her magic.

'For starters, I could attend Lindenburg. Tuition is a lot but current me can afford it. There is not a Rank requirement to start either.'

'Then there is the military. Also does not need prior Ranking to join but it would help me if I did. The problem is that I do not have anyone to train me. There is only so much I can do without formal training.'

'There is always the mercenaries. But I hear the mortality rate is high and having no formal combat training I would be last all of one mission before I got decapitated or blown up. And I would really hate to mess up my pretty lil self.'

Saryn gave herself a chuckle with the last thought, 'But for real though, it is unreal that this is my original body. Leum's body started going bald at age twenty and could pass out for no good reason at all.'

"Hold on a second! He had a hairline this evening! I never even got plugs or could afford them at this point!" Saryn exclaimed.

"Damn, something must have happened once we switched back."

After Saryn quit grumbling she thought of the final, realistic option, 'The only other option with a good guarantee is getting a normal job. Would I even be happy with that? I think it would be a waste to not use my magic to its potential. Plus, I would like to see how powerful I could get.'

'That leaves me with joining the military or the university. If I join the military I get straight into the action of being trained but start at the bottom. If I make it through university, I would have a higher starting point no matter where I went.'

Saryn hopped out of bed and faced the full mirror.

'I will enroll at Lindenburg University and then, if nothing else, join the military.'

At the moment, Saryn could hardly stay awake, but she needed to apply and pay the tuition tonight.

Going through old school records made Saryn raise an eyebrow.

"Straight A's throughout high school."

"Just shy of being salutatorian at third overall out of three hundred students."

"And competed in track and cross country."

'Leum was a real go-getter. Hmmm, does not feel right to call them my own, well, old name. With these records and achievements, I should be able to be accepted even with classes around the corner.'

Putting in all her academic records and other necessary information all that was left was to pay the application fee and, hopefully, tuition.

Amount Due: 150cr

'The regular application fee is only 50cr, but that 100cr late fee hurts even if I have an abundance of credits now.'

Application Submitted. Thank you for applying!

"Phew. I can finally go to sleep. I. am. so. tired," Saryn iterated as she fell face-first into bed and fell sound asleep, not even bothering to turn the lights off.